The board of directors, staff and members of ICFA are invested in the positive outcome of education, research and advocacy related to the traditional cannabis farmer. Our members are directly involved in the evolution of Cannabis as a sustainable industry, recognizing its efficacy in the treatment of mental health and pain management; responsible adult-use and as a business with a direct influence on our local and state economies.
Board Member
Dustin Moore is a trusted consultant and advisor with more than a decade of experience in business development, political strategy, public policy, and government and public affairs. He specializes in the strategic development and implementation of policies at the State and local level including ordinance and revenue measure development, public affairs and legislative efforts.
Dustin provides strategic consulting services to professional cannabis associations, cannabis manufacturers, distributors, testing labs and retailers. Dustin has managed state and local campaigns in California on issues including cannabis, taxation, education, and healthcare. Prior to joining Axion Advisors, Dustin was a principal at Main Street Strategies, a legislative and public affairs company specializing in emerging issues. Dustin served as the Deputy Campaign Manager for the Yes on Proposition 64 campaign – the 2016 ballot measure that legalized the adult use of marijuana in California.
Dustin previously consulted on/managed several successful campaigns at one of the state’s leading campaign management firms and served as a Senior Consultant for the Speaker of the California State Assembly.
Prior to his work in the political and cannabis arenas, Dustin owned and operated businesses in California and Colorado.
Dustin graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a degree in political science. He splits his time between Sacramento and Manhattan Beach with his wife Lauren.
Executive Director
Kristin Nevedal is a co-founder of, and serves as the executive director for, the International Cannabis Farmers Association. Kristin is principal at The Nevedal Group, a small consulting firm specializing in compliance support for seasonal cultivators, temporary cannabis events, and the development of sustainable and regenerative educational programs. She also serves as a board member for the California Cannabis Industry Association, where she chairs the agricultural committee, and an appointee to California’s Cannabis Advisory Committee as a cannabis industry representative.
Kristin co-founded and served on the board of the Emerald Growers Association, which promoted the medicinal, environmental, social and economic benefits of lawfully cultivated sun grown medical Cannabis from California by advocating for public policies that foster a healthy and sustainable medical Cannabis industry. And as chair of the American Herbal Products Association Cannabis Committee’s cultivation working group, Kristin assisted in the development of cultivation model regulations and best practices for agency consideration. Kristin’s broad policy and advocacy experience also includes serving as a board member for Sun+Earth Certified, the 420 Archives, and the Americans for Safe Access’ Patient Focused Certification Peer Review Board.
Board Member
Amanda Reiman is an internationally recognized Cannabis expert and public health researcher. Dubbed “The Brain” by Elle.com, Dr. Reiman is a leader in the field of Cannabis as a substitute for alcohol and other drugs and has presented her research all over the world. Also an expert in Cannabis policy on the local, national and international level, Dr. Reiman was the first chairwoman of the Berkeley Medical Cannabis Commission and currently sits on the Oakland Cannabis Regulatory Commission.
After receiving her Ph.D. from U.C. Berkeley, Dr. Reiman was the director of research and patient services at Berkeley Patients Group, one of the oldest dispensaries in the country, and the manager of marijuana law and policy for the Drug Policy Alliance, a national non-profit that was engaged in the drafting and campaigns of legalization initiatives across the country and abroad.
Dr. Reiman is currently a lecturer in the School of Social Welfare at UC Berkeley and an Affiliate Scientist with the Alcohol Research Group. She also conducts research through Research Triangle International. Her research centers on Cannabis as a substitute for opiates and how dispensaries fill the role of health service provider.
Board Member
Tristin Oates was raised on the Lost Coast in Humboldt County. This upbringing instilled a deep sense of community and reverence for the natural world that continues to inspire her work. An interest in numbers and business led her to obtain a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Humboldt State University. Her roots extend well over a decade in the Cannabis industry, giving her a wide range of experience and knowledge. When she’s not working on her next project, Tristin can be found painting, gardening, reading or hiking with her spirited Australian kelpie dog.
Board Member
Chrystal Ortiz is a permaculture gardener, Cannabis medicine maker and educator, founding member of FulSol Farm and operations manager at True Humboldt, a brand supported by medical Cannabis farmers in the Humboldt Sun Growers Guild. Based on her experience branding and promoting Humboldt-grown Cannabis to dispensaries throughout California, Chrystal believes that claiming and protecting geographical appellations will be crucial to brand identity and integrity. As part of Humboldt County's track and trace program, Chrystal has been actively involved in early efforts to designate appellations of origin. While proof of origin is a strong first step, Chrystal is focused on the development of deeper quality control standards including the use of native soil, innovative (and ancient) farming practices, integrated pest management, properly timed harvests and curing standards. Chrystal believes that the Emerald Triangle has a great responsibility to accurately identify and define our appellation designations.
Board Member
Heather Kornberg is an avid community volunteer and organizer who has sat on multiple boards and served as secretary for the boards of the Mateel Community Center, Heart of the Redwoods Community Hospice and Miranda Parents Partnership, which focuses on student culture at the local junior high and high schools. Last year Heather helped the students create their first student government. She studied international studies and environmental studies with a focus on politics at Dominican College in San Rafael. Heather hosts a local radio show that focuses on women-oriented music and interviews businesswomen about their local, national and international endeavors. She was the youngest Rotarian to become a member in her local business club. Heather loves public speaking and traveling, has started multiple businesses and considers herself an entrepreneur.
Board Member
Hollie Hall is a soil and water scientist with expertise in providing cannabis farmers the support needed to transition farms into environmentally compliant, water secure, regenerative agricultural systems. She draws from two decades of experience in natural resources management, global studies of agricultural practices, and training in adaptive water resource management to design, coordinate and implement ‘beyond compliance’ solutions for cannabis farms. She works with government agencies, non-profits and the private sector to integrate the needs of society, government, and environment to drive the establishment of cannabis farmers who implement watershed-friendly practices that reverse the negative impacts of historic natural resources extraction practices. Her professional goals are to re-define the dominant societal perspective of cannabis industries via participation in development of farm management systems, breaking of barriers between cannabis farmers and government agents, and participation in policy development processes. In addition to operating two natural resources consulting firms, Hollie serves as a board member of the Humboldt County Cannabis Chamber of Commerce and the Humboldt Cannabis Council, two organizations that integrate diverse stakeholder groups and provide expert opinion regarding emerging cannabis industries.
Board Member
Heather Burke is a Partner with Origin Group Law LLP where her practice focuses on legal issues affecting Northern California cultivators. She recently co-founded the OG Law and Collaboration Center in Nevada City, California, a community collaboration center designed to support cannabis farmers throughout Northern California.
Graduating from Humboldt State University in 2005, Heather has consistently set new legal precedent in California cannabis law. Even as a law student, she was instrumental in the seminal California cannabis case, People v. Jovan Jackson, which established the rule that large-scale collectives/cooperatives may operate lawfully in California. Later, she co-drafted a proposed initiative for California cannabis legalization (2016), entitled The California Craft Cannabis Initiative. Heather also drafted the legal pleadings that resulted in a five-day evidentiary hearing regarding cannabis’ Schedule I status in U.S. v. Pickard in the Eastern District of California (federal court).
She was awarded NORML’s John Mark Flowers Scholar in 2015, and was named one of Skunk Magazine’s Women of Weed for 2015. The Nevada County Cannabis Cup named her “Attorney of the Year” in 2017 and, in 2018, Heather was featured in MG Retailer’s article, “30 Powerful Cannabis Attorneys You Should Know.”
In addition to her vibrant law practice in the Sierra Nevada mountains, Heather is a regular speaker and panelist at cannabis conferences throughout California. She pens a popular blog about legal issues affecting cannabis growers.
Board Member
Erin Gore is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Garden Society, a cannabis confection company started in early 2016. Originally from Wisconsin, Erin made Sonoma County her home in 2011. After completing her degree in Chemical and Biological Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2006, Erin began a decade-long career with Henkel, where she managed a global adhesive business valued at nearly $100 million. Her time at Henkel provided a solid foundation in leadership, development, and achieving exceptional financial results.
In 2016, Erin left her corporate career to run Gore Family Vineyards, a boutique winery nestled in Healdsburg, Sonoma County. In addition to producing wine, Erin and her husband Tom have expanded the estate’s products to include olive oil, honey and more than 70 varietals of fruits and vegetables that are sold to restaurants and locals in the community.
Erin’s most-recent enterprise, Garden Society, developed out of her own need to explore non-traditional ways of managing the pain and stress of multiple hip surgeries. She quickly realized the holistic benefits of cannabis as a means of providing a better quality of life without prescription drugs, and in doing so found an opportunity to fill a void in the market with low dose edibles that highlight the renowned food culture of Sonoma County. In 2016, after much of her own research and experimentation, Erin joined with prominent Chef, Kolin Vazzoler, with the goal of creating artisanal confections made with low doses of cannabis that would enrich and help balance women’s lives.
Erin was awarded a Top Business of the Year honor in 2016 and was also given the Most Disruptive Innovation Award in 2014. Currently, she serves on the Board of the Healthcare Foundation Northern Sonoma County as well as the Healdsburg District Hospital Board of Directors. She is also a member of the Sonoma County Growers Alliance and belongs to the Circular Board, The Collaborative Accelerator for Women Entrepreneurs.
Board Member
Sequoyah Hudson's participation over the last 5 years has been motivated by her desire to take a role in cannabis advocacy, as she has evolved to become more and more educated and connected to others around her with the same interest and passion.
The desire to speak up on behalf of herself and others who have not yet found their voice has become so strong that it has overcome her fear of public opinion, law enforcement or consequences in her professional career.
While finding her voice and passion for advocacy includes advocating for cannabis consumers and for the plant itself, it is the small farmers that she feels most passionate about. It is the future of the small farmers that she now fears for most. These farmers have been neighbors, family, friends, and community for nearly 30 years. She feels a strong responsibility, willingness and desire to do whatever she can to be sure they have all the tools and resources they can possibly have to continue to operate their farms, have a secure means to support their livelihood and families, provide amazing cannabis for consumers and continue to be conscious contributors to their respective communities.
As a result of her increased involvement she, herself has been more educated on many facets of ‘the cannabis industry’ as it has been evolving including: regulations and the regulatory process, state government and the legislative process, marketing/branding, appellations, agricultural commissions, cooperative development, organizational structure/involvement as well as learning more about the plant and better farming practices overall.
Each one of these are areas in which she believes she can both contribute experience and knowledge to as well as continue to learn and grow.
Board Member
Adrien Keys is a traditional Cannabis farmer in the mountains of Trinity County. With a cultivation background spanning decades he possesses a deep understanding of the challenges facing farmers, but also recognizes the incredible opportunities they have in shaping the future of sungrown Cannabis in the Emerald Triangle and beyond. He is committed to promoting input and direction from the people who created this industry.
Growing up on a small homestead in southern Oregon, his parents back-to-the-land ethos instilled a sense of stewardship that continues in his land practices today. After years of living in the Bay Area and working in fine dining Adrien's need to reconnect with the natural world brought him to Trinity County where he is an advocate for rural agricultural communities and the unique cultural heritage they hold. His community involvement includes Rotary, serving on the boards of the Trinity County Fair and Trinity Trust. He is also excited to host foster dogs for a local rescue.
Board Member
Erich Pearson is a recognized leader in the cannabis industry – a long-time advocate, legislative consultant, dispensary operator, cultivation expert, a founding member of the National Cannabis Industry Association, and the founder of SPARC, a vertically integrated cannabis farming, manufacturing, and retail company.
A proponent of medical cannabis regulation, cultivation, and best practices since 2000, Erich has served on a variety of San Francisco’s cannabis working groups, the District Attorney’s Medical Marijuana Advisory Group, Board of Supervisor’s Lowest Priority Working Group, Medical Cannabis Working Group, and Legalization Task Force.
In 2010 Erich launched SPARC, a nonprofit medical cannabis dispensary providing safe, consistent and affordable medical cannabis to patients in San Francisco. SPARC now provides high quality, lab-tested cannabis to qualified patients and adults, and collaborates with local hospices, residential care facilities, and dispensaries to successfully supply medical marijuana at no cost to seriously ill patients. SPARC currently owns and operates 5 retail dispensaries in the Bay Area, an organic farm in Sonoma Valley, and a manufacturing facility in Santa Rosa, California.
Erich continues to drive SPARC in a direction that differentiates the SPARC brand while advocating for policies that normalize the use and distribution of cannabis. Lately, Erich has been working closely with policy makers in Sonoma County to draft and implement laws that allow for the cultivation, manufacture, and distribution of cannabis. Erich is working closely with the community and government of Sonoma Valley to permit SPARC’s Biodynamic farm to allow for public access and sales no different than the multitude of wineries that drive tourism to Sonoma.
Erich holds a BS in Construction and Project Management from Purdue University.
Executive Assistant
Jahsri Hardi is a world traveler and entrepreneur. She lived in Bali, Indonesia and moved to Garberville, CA at the age of six. Jahsri has grown up around the Cannabis industry of Humboldt County for most of her life and has experienced the changes and growth of this industry first hand. She’s helped manage a handful of farms and has experience in many different aspects of the Cannabis world.
Aside from her relationship with Cannabis, Jahsri launched her own business as a clothing designer in 2015. Jahsri is the creator and designer of Island Child Threads, a small batch clothing line that she sells online and at festivals up and down the west coast. Jahsri’s long term vision is to find a way to for her passion for fashion and the Cannabis industry to coexist.